Time Inc. has a new activist investor, Leon Cooperman’s Omega Partners hedge fund.

Omega picked up 903,500 Time Inc. shares in the third quarter at an average price of $14.48, SEC filings show.

The stock closed Tuesday at $13.20.

That stake in and of itself would not constitute an activist stake, but one financial source said that Cooperman is pals with another activist investor, Barry Rosenstein, who heads Jana Partners.

Jana owns a 4.9 percent stake in Time Inc. and is said to have met with new CEO Rich Battista.

While Battista laid out his digital expansion plans, Jana believes the industry needs to consolidate.

Time, which wiped out the publisher position on individual titles, has now named five new general managers overseeing multiple titles instead: Meredith Long on news, luxury and style; Patty Hirsch, sports; Bruce Gersh, celebrity/entertainment; Regina Buckley, lifestyle; and Edouard Portelette, the Foundry.

Battista is still pushing for a “strong growth strategy,” according to a Monday announcement.

The Omega stake has triggered a new round of whispering that something might be afoot.

Rumors are swirling in financial circles that the company is sounding out a new banker — possibly Morgan Stanley — to be ready to step in should something large or small develop on the M&A front.

So far, nothing official has transpired, sources tell us.

There are persistent rumors that Time would like to off-load several titles to Meredith, sources said, but Meredith doesn’t want just one or two titles — like Coastal Living or Sunset — but rather a bigger assortment of titles.

Both sides have an official policy of not commenting on rumor or speculation. Cooperman said of his Time Inc. buy: “We buy something long because we think it is undervalued. We sell something short because we think it’s overvalued.”

And as to any communication with Jana, he said, “We do our own work and have not spoken with Jana.”